Scottie Wilbekin has received attention for his defense in his first full season as a starter at Florida.

But the 19-year-old junior also is progressing nicely on the offensive end at point guard. Wilbekin’s scoring average (9.1 ppg) is modest, but he’s second in the SEC in assists (84) with an assist-to-turnover ratio (84-33) of more than 2 to 1. The 6-foot-2 Wilbekin also has shown the ability to make 3-pointers when open. He’s shooting 41.5 percent (22-53) from 3-point range.

“Since the year has gone on I have gotten more comfortable out there,” Wilbekin said. “It has been slowing down. The reads become easier as I’ve grown up. When I just slow down it seems something always opens up.”

Other notes:

— Congratulations to Bill Koss on being named one of the 14 SEC men’s basketball legends to be honored at this year’s SEC Tournament in Nashville. Though he averaged just 2.8 points as a forward at UF from 1963-65, Koss has had a tremendous impact on Florida basketball. He served as an assistant coach at UF from 1966-72 and a television analyst for the past 34 years. On a personal note, Koss has always been gracious with his time and knowledge. Long before he became an NBA All-Star and even before he grabbed 18 rebounds as a freshman against Alabama, Koss was the first one to tell me he saw something special in Al Horford.

— No surprise, Florida is up to a No. 1 in Joe Lunardi’s latest ESPN Bracketology. The Gators have only been a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament once in school history. That was in 2007, when Florida won the second of its back-to-back national titles.

About This Blog

Kevin Brockway gave up on his dream of becoming a lefty starting pitcher for the New York Mets when he walked four straight batters, then hit one in a middle school game in Suffern, N.Y. Since graduating college in 1993, he’s worked as a sports writer at daily newspapers throughout the state of Florida, beginning with the Key West Citizen. He then moved on to the Northwest Florida Daily News and Naples Daily News before becoming the men’s basketball writer for The Gainesville Sun in 2003. Brockway has won multiple state and national writing awards during his 16-year career. Favorite pastimes include karaoke and watching baseball. Favorite college hoops team growing up was St. John’s.